Cleaner Greener Penang

25/05/2010 20:45

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is launching a green initiative, roping in the private sector, non-governmental organisations, the media, government agencies and other stakeholders to work towards making George Town an international city.

The “Cleaner Greener Penang” initiative, to be launched on Saturday, is pioneered by the state government and Star Publications (M) Bhd and supported by the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) and Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP).

State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who heads the initiative, said the objectives of the one-year campaign were to improve the quality of life and create a greener public realm.

“We also want to raise awareness on the importance of looking after the environment,” he told reporters at Komtar here yesterday.

“We have to derive creative solutions to meet the needs and concerns of the community,” he said.

To monitor and evaluate the success of the initiative, Chow said four key result areas have been set – creating cleaner and greener neighbourhoods, achieving waste minimisation through 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle), transforming mindsets towards responsible citizenship and empowering and building community structure for sustainable living.

He added that the public were encouraged to provide suggestions.

The Star’s regional operations manager (north) Chung Chok Yin said the company was more than pleased to participate in the campaign.

“We hope other media companies will also work together for a more sustainable environment,” he said.

The public can provide feedback at its website www.cleanergreenerpenang.com or call MPPP at 04-263 7637 or MPSP at 04-537 2658.